That Christian Privilege

"Privilege? What privilege? Religion is a minority..." I grumbled as I clicked the link to read a heavy dose of negativity. After all, Trump hadn't been in the news so I needed something to bring me down.

The article wasn't angry or accusatory, but the article was absolutely right- there is a prevalent Christian privilege in the United States. We get major holidays off, our symbols are not stigmatized, our people are not considered heretics for evangelizing on strangers' front porches. We are privileged. Mentally, I followed that up with arguments about modern-day martyrs, about how Christianity is discriminated against in other parts of the world, and then I stopped myself. We aren't talking about "other parts of the world", we are talking about right here in this country, and how people are experiencing religious discrimination because they are part of the minority. It can be hard to be a Christian today, but there are other, harder walks of faith to be on right now. Take time to pray for those who are being religiously discriminated against in the United States.

Now, this is not the time to get defensive; this is the time to consider what we can do as Christians to not take advantage of this...

1. Recognize that religious freedom is not something we are entitled to, it's something everyone deserves and needs. We each have our own faith or spiritually journey, and just because someone's is different does not make it wrong or them a "bad person". 
2. Educate yourself! Don't just assume you don't need to know about other religions, try and learn about them and their faith practices. There are some incredibly cool types of prayer and life philosophies that other religions use that could be useful to you.
3. Realize that just because someone doesn't say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Easter" does not mean people are "attacking" Christian religion. You don't wish people a joyful Diwali or Hanukkah, so don't expect everyone to give you best wishes for a holiday a person may not be participating in either. 
4. Our faith is not known for only the bad or scary parts. As Catholics, we've received some of this, between sexual abuse scandals, the Crusades, and other instances that we are less than proud of, but we also know that there is so much more to our faith than this. It's the same for others, use your empathy and be aware of this. 
5. Understand that we can check of privilege, respect other beliefs and values, and help others without losing integrity in our faith, God created us all, and loves us all. We don't all have the same path to God nor does God expect us to, so why do we? Different is not a bad thing. 

Conversations like these can be unsettling and uncomfortable, but they are no more difficult than what we hear today from the daily readings, in 1 Samuel, 18. Johnathan stands up to his father, Saul, who is seeking to kill his friend, David. Can you imagine how difficult it must have been for Johnathan to face is bloody-thirsty father and stand up for his friend? Johnathan stood up to his own flesh and blood, his own community for a essentially a stranger to his family. 

Stay warm out there friend!

Tota tua, 

LeAnn